Heal Your Gut

In addition to the above points one could consider the following to restore damaged health;
1. Shift pH towards alkaline if saliva test shows acid.
2. Take Bi-Carbonate of soda (NaHCO3) with maple syrup to kill cell fungi.
3. Take true colloidal silver. Do not take ionic silver
4. Take supplements as determined by blood test if diet and exercise is insufficient.
5. Take Fulvic

Warning. This is a research site collecting information for consideration. ALL material provided herein is in no way intended to provide or advertise any medical advice or make any generalised medical claims in any way shape or form. By continuing to read you agree to not consider any of this research material, or testimonials as medical advice. This information is provided specifically for the researcher only, none of this material is intended to provide any diagnosis, cure, or to prevent any disease, nor to provide any medical advice whatsoever.

“All disease begins in the gut.”

Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine

The real secret to good health

The trillions of friendly bacteria in the human gut form the basis of your health. The Digestive & Immune Systems depend on their protection against microbial and parasitic attack. A healthy intestinal flora supports the barrier function of the intestinal mucous membrane against digested poisons and allergens, preventing such unwanted substances from entering the blood circulation.

A healthy gut has 3 prime functions…

1. digestion of food,
2. absorption, manufacture and distribution of nutrients,
3. prevention of toxins from entering the body.

If the gut is unhealthy so is the rest of the body

Leaky bowel syndrome
(gut dysbiosis, leaky gut syndrome)

The intestinal mucous membrane is a dense mesh network, preventing large molecules from migrating. If predominantly bad bacteria inhabit the intestines, the mesh starts widening, allowing undesirable bacteria, viruses, fungi and other potentially toxic materials to enter the blood stream.

This situation is called Leaky Gut Syndrome, Leaky Bowel Syndrome, or Gut Dysbiosis.

The widened spaces can also allow undigested food particles to “leak” through the intestinal lining. This could pose a serious health risk since these particles may be considered “foreign” by the body and the immune system may try to destroy them. This would immediately cause the immune system to weaken because approximately 80% of the immune system is affected by the intestines. Every tenth cell of the intestines is a lymphatic immune cell.

Leaking intestines are no longer able to produce a sufficient amount of immune cells. The leaky gut syndrome is almost always associated with autoimmune disease and reversing autoimmune disease depends on healing the lining of the gastrointestinal tract. Any other treatment is no more than symptom management or suppression.

An autoimmune disease is defined as one in which the immune system makes antibodies against its own tissues. The activation of immune cells within the huge surface area of the gut lining can cause a systemic inflammatory response and overall bodily inflammation. We are now learning this is a key to many different disease states, including heart disease, cancer, arthritis and diabetes. The passage of bacteria and toxins through leaky gut mucosa may amplify or perpetuate this systemic inflammation. Leaky gut syndrome also creates a long list of mineral deficiencies, because the various carrier proteins present in the gastrointestinal tract that are needed to transport minerals from the intestine to the blood are damaged by the inflammation process.

Leaky gut is linked to a whole host of chronic diseases. It is not the only cause, but sadly, for many people, leaky gut isn’t detected. Therefore they don’t know that they should be healing the gastrointestinal lining with probiotics and cellular nutrition. This is the path to disease reversal. Empower the immune system and the body can take care of itself.

What is the role of Probiotics?

Probiotic bacteria favourably alter the intestinal microflora balance, inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria, promote good digestion, boost immune function and increase resistance to infection. People with flourishing intestinal colonies of beneficial bacteria are better equipped to fight the growth of disease-causing bacteria. Full spectrum Synbiotics (probiotic + prebiotic) maintain a healthy balance of intestinal flora by producing organic compounds – such as lactic acid, hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid – that increase the acidity of the intestine and inhibit the reproduction of many harmful bacteria. Probiotic bacteria also produce substances called acidophillin or bacteriocins, which act as natural antibiotics. A broad spectrum of nutrients in the form of bio-available superfoods also assists recovery.

The 7 stages of the ‘inflamed’ gut

When the gut is inflamed, it does not absorb nutrients and foods properly and so fatigue and bloating can occur.

As mentioned previously, when large food particles are absorbed there is the creation of food allergies and new symptoms with target organs, such as arthritis or fibromyalgia.

When the gut is inflamed the carrier proteins are damaged so nutrient deficiencies occur which can also cause any symptom, like magnesium deficiency induced muscle spasm or copper deficiency induced high cholesterol.

Likewise when the detox pathways that line the gut are compromised, chemical sensitivity can arise. Furthermore the leakage of toxins overburdens the liver so that the body is less able to handle everyday chemicals.

When the gut lining is inflamed the protective coating of lgA (immunoglobulin A) is adversely affected and the body is not able to ward off protozoa, bacteria, viruses and yeasts like Candida.

When the intestinal lining is inflamed, bacteria and yeasts are able to translocate. This means that they are able to pass from the gut lumen or cavity, into the bloodstream and set up infection anywhere else in the body.

The worst symptom is the formation of antibodies. Sometimes these leak across and look similar to antigens on our own tissues. Consequently, when an antibody is made to attack it, it also attacks our tissue. This is probably how autoimmune disease starts. Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, thyroiditis and many others are members of this ever-growing category of ‘incurable’ diseases.

Hippocrates said this more than 2,000 years ago, but we’re only now coming to understand just how right he was. Research over the past two decades has revealed that gut health is critical to overall health, and that an unhealthy gut contributes to a wide range of diseases including diabetes, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, autism spectrum disorder, depression and chronic fatigue syndrome.

In fact, many researchers (including myself) believe that supporting intestinal health and restoring the integrity of the gut barrier will be one of the most important goals of medicine in the 21st century.

There are two closely related variables that determine our gut health: the intestinal microbiota, or “gut flora”, and the gut barrier. Let’s discuss each of them in turn.

The gut flora: a healthy garden needs healthy soil

Our gut is home to approximately 100,000,000,000,000 (100 trillion) microorganisms. That’s such a big number our human brains can’t really comprehend it. One trillion dollar bills laid end-to-end would stretch from the earth to the sun – and back – with a lot of miles to spare. Do that 100 times and you start to get at least a vague idea of how much 100 trillion is.

We’ve only recently begun to understand the extent of the gut flora’s role in human health and disease. Among other things, the gut flora promotes normal gastrointestinal function, provides protection from infection, regulates metabolism and comprises more than 75% of our immune system. Dysregulated gut flora has been linked to diseases ranging from autism and depression to autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto’s, inflammatory bowel disease and type 1 diabetes.

Unfortunately, several features of the modern lifestyle directly contribute to unhealthy gut flora:

We also know that infants that aren’t breast-fed and are born to mothers with bad gut flora are more likely to develop unhealthy gut bacteria, and that these early differences in gut flora may predict overweight, diabetes, eczema/psoriasis, depression and other health problems in the future.

The gut barrier: the gatekeeper that decide what gets in and what stays out

Have you ever considered the fact that the contents of the gut are technically outside the body? The gut is a hollow tube that passes from the mouth to the anus. Anything that goes in the mouth and isn’t digested will pass right out the other end. This is, in fact, one of the most important functions of the gut: to prevent foreign substances from entering the body.

When the intestinal barrier becomes permeable (i.e. “leaky gut syndrome”), large protein molecules escape into the bloodstream. Since these proteins don’t belong outside of the gut, the body mounts an immune response and attacks them. Studies show that these attacks play a role in the development of autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto’s and type 1 diabetes, among others.

There is growing evidence that increased intestinal permeability plays a pathogenic role in various autoimmune diseases including [celiac disease] and [type 1 diabetes]. Therefore, we hypothesize that besides genetic and environmental factors, loss of intestinal barrier function is necessary to develop autoimmunity.

The phrase “leaky gut” used to be confined to the outer fringes of medicine, employed by alternative practitioners with letters like D.C., L.Ac and N.D. after their names. Conventional researchers and doctors originally scoffed at the idea that a leaky gut contributes to autoimmune problems, but now they’re eating their words. It has been repeatedly shown in several well-designed studies that the integrity of the intestinal barrier is a major factor in autoimmune disease.

This new theory holds that the intestinal barrier in large part determines whether we tolerate or react to toxic substances we ingest from the environment. The breach of the intestinal barrier (which is only possible with a “leaky gut”) by food toxins like gluten and chemicals like arsenic or BPA causes an immune response which affects not only the gut itself, but also other organs and tissues. These include the skeletal system, the pancreas, the kidney, the liver and the brain.

This is a crucial point to understand: you don’t have to have gut symptoms to have a leaky gut. Leaky gut can manifest as skin problems like eczema or psoriasis, heart failure, autoimmune conditions affecting the thyroid (Hashimoto’s) or joints (rheumatoid arthritis), mental illness, autism spectrum disorder, depression and more.

Researchers have identified a protein called zonulin that increases intestinal permeability in humans and other animals. This led to a search of the medical literature for illnesses characterized by increased intestinal permeability (leaky gut). Imagine their surprise when the researchers found that many, if not most, autoimmune diseases – including celiac disease, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease – are characterized by abnormally high levels of zonulin and a leaky gut. In fact, researchers have found that they can induce type 1 diabetes almost immediately in animals by exposing them to zonulin. They develop a leaky gut, and begin producing antibodies to islet cells – which are responsible for making insulin.

In Step #1: Don’t Eat Toxins, I explained that one of the main reasons we don’t want to eat wheat and other gluten-containing grains is that they contain a protein called gliadin, which has been shown to increase zonulin production and thus directly contribute to leaky gut.

Here’s the takeaway. Leaky gut and bad gut flora are common because of the modern lifestyle. If you have a leaky gut, you probably have bad gut flora, and vice versa. And when your gut flora and gut barrier are impaired, you will be inflamed. Period.

This systemic inflammatory response then leads to the development of autoimmunity. And while leaky gut and bad gut flora may manifest as digestive trouble, in many people it does not. Instead it shows up as problems as diverse as heart failure, depression, brain fog, eczema/psoriasis and other skin conditions, metabolic problems like obesity and diabetes and allergies, asthma and other autoimmune diseases.

To adequately address these conditions, you must rebuild healthy gut flora and restore the integrity of your intestinal barrier. This is especially true if you have any kind of autoimmune disease, whether you experience digestive issues or not.

How to maintain and restore a healthy gut

The most obvious first step in maintaining a healthy gut is to avoid all of the things I listed above that destroy gut flora and damage the intestinal barrier. But of course that’s not always possible, especially in the case of chronic stress and infections. Nor did we have any control over whether we were breast-fed or whether our mothers had healthy guts when they gave birth to us.

If you’ve been exposed to some of these factors, there are still steps you can take to restore your gut flora: